We'll make it work this time
by Mirlinda
Summary: This takes place after the episode s11xe21 Good news for almost everyone. How will Ruthie react to Martins love confession, and what about Tbone? Will she choose the love of her life, or is it too late? Marthie!
1. Chapter 1

Ruthie Camden had had a long day and a lot to process, to say the least. First there was the news that her dad, Reverend Eric Camden, minister in the small community of Glen Oak got a clean bill of health from his heart condition and was finally going to be alright! Then there where the news that Lucy and Kevin were expecting again! Ruthie was gonna be an aunt for the fifth time, and then there was the makeup, or should I say…makeout with T-bone, and last but not least…there was Martins confession. His words echoed in her head as T-bone dropped her off after the hospital. Her parents were already at home.

"_If we both agree to date eachother and no one else. And if you'd let me be more than a friend, I think we could be really good together._"

Ruthie was still in a daze and had barely said five words to T-bone after her conversation with Martin. The silence was broken by T-bone.

"Ruthie"

"Huh…yeah, I'm sorry, what were you saying?" She replied.

"Uhh, we barely talked at the coffee shop after the hospital and you haven't said a word all the way back."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize."

"Does this have anything to do with Martin and the conversation you guys had?" He asked.

"Yeah…I mean no, no, offcourse not." Ruthie answered, still not quite present.

"I should get in, my parents and Lucy are waiting for me. Thanks for the coffee." She continued, and headed out the car door without as much as a glance at T-bone.

"Ruthie!" T-bone shouted after her.

Ruthie turned around.

"I'm really glad we got back together." He continued.

Ruthie just smiled, but as she turned away, her fake smile became replaced by a look of confusion and anxiety.

Ruthie entered the kitchen door and was greeted by her mother and Lucy.

"Hi sweetie, what are you doing home now? I thought you'd be home long before your father and me" Her mother Annie asked.

"Oh, I just went for coffee with T-bone" Ruthie answered.

"Oh, so you guys are back together?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah…I guess we are. Congratulations sis." Ruthie responded as she hugged her sister and patted her stomach, before heading for the stairs to her bedroom.

"Are you alright honey?" Annie asked.

"Yeah why?"

"You seem kinda' out of it." Lucy said.

"I'm fine, where's dad by the way?" Ruthie asked.

"Oh your father went out again with Kevin, Martin and Mac to play some pool, you know…guys night out, celebrate the good news." Annie responded.

"Yeah, so mom and I were wondering if you'd like to join us for a girls night." Lucy continued.

"Thanks, but no thanks, I think I'm gonna call it a night. Wait…did you say dad was out with Martin?" Ruthie had to repeat it to herself.

"Yeah, why?" Annie asked her daughter.

"Nothing" Ruthie quickly answered.

"Are you sure you're alright." Annie asked.

"Yeah, It's just been a long day, goodnight." Ruthie said and quickly rushed upstairs, and went to bed.

Ruthie had been awake for 3 hours, trying to get some sleep, but her mind wouldn't let her be. She found herself occupied with thoughts about Martin, her sweet, beautiful Martin. Everytime she thought about him, she felt so warm inside, just like she does everytime he puts his warm arms around her that always makes her feel so safe, protected and loved. Then her thoughts went to T-bone and her smile once again became replaced with anxiety. She had really come to care for T-bone, even love him in a way. She decided to turn the radio on, the station played "Why" by Mis-Teeq. Without realizing it, Ruthie became stuck in the lyrics.

_We've always been so close together_

_Doing things that only best friends do_

_Always there for one another_

_Through the bad times and the good_

_The other night you held me close, need to know_

_Did we just cross the line_

_This other side just feels so right_

_Won't you tell me why_

_Why, why, why do friends to lovers take so long_

_Now that we come around, we finally found a love forever strong_

_Why, why, why were you so near and yet so far_

_How could I be so blind, when all the time I was in your heart_

_For so long i've been searching_

_For the love that I can call my own_

_Now I know I was only waiting_

_For the face i've always known_

_I believe what Heaven is, just like this every time we kiss_

_And deep inside i feel so high_

_Won't you tell me why_

_Why, why, why do friends to lovers take so long_

_Now that we come around, we finally found a love forever strong_

_Why, why, why were you so near and yet so far_

_How could I be so blind, when all the time I was in your heart_

It was amazing how the lyrics hit home, she thought. When the song finished, she turned off the radio. Her problems could wait until the morning, she thought. And she was finally able to fall asleep.

The next morning, Ruthie was woken up by her mother at 11 am. Annie went and pulled away the curtains, letting the sun shine in on Ruthies face, causing her to wake up.

"Wake up sweetie, It's 11 o'clock." Annie said.

"Ugh…5 more minutes, please." She responded, pulling her cover over her head.

"I had this wonderful dream that me and…" She continued, before being interrupted by her mother.

"Nope, you gotta get up young lady, we've all had breakfast already and Martin's on the phone in the kitchen."

"What?! Why didn't you tell me?!" Ruthie rushed out of bed, put on her slippers.

"What's going on? Is there something I should know about?" Annie asked. Ruthie didn't answer, she just rushed down to the phone, still in her pyjamas.

"Hi" Ruthie said.

"Hi, I hope I didn't wake you." Martin said in the other end.

"No I've been up for 2 hours" Ruthie answered with a sarcastic smile.

Martin giggled a little on the other end.

"You know you're a terrible liar, always have been." They both giggled.

"So how are you?" Martin continued.

"I'm fine…actually, I don't know, I'm still all over the place." Ruthie implied.

"Look Ruthie, about yesterday…I'm sorry, I mean, not for telling you how I feel about you, but…for putting you in an awkward situation. I want you to know I meant every word." Martin said.

"I know you did. Actually, I was hoping we could talk more about it…my place at 7?" Ruthie asked.

"Sure" Martin answered as they both smiled and blushed a little.

"So 7 it is?"

"I'll be there." Martin said tenderly before hanging up.

Ruthie was still blushing, but as she started dialing T-bones number, her fingers started shivering.

"Hello" T-bone answered.

"Hey T-bone it's me, look, could you come over in about an hour? I need to talk to you about something." Ruthie said.

"Sure, but hey, I was thinking why don't we catch a movie tonight as well, maybe grab some pizza?" T-bone asked.

"Uh…actually, I have other plans, look…it's really important."

"Fine, I'll be there in an hour." T-bone answered before hanging up.

Ruthie sighed and went upstairs, took a shower, put on some light makeup and got herself dressed. She could feel her stomach tying up in knots, from nervousness and anxiety. How was she gonna tell them?

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	2. Chapter 2

_Ruthie sighed and went upstairs, took a shower, put on some light makeup and got herself dressed. She could feel her stomach tying up in knots, from nervousness and anxiety. How was she gonna tell them?_

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"Hey" T-bone said as Ruthie opened the door. T-bone leaned to give her a kiss on the cheek, which made Ruthie feel slightly awkward for some reason.

"Hi, uhm, look…why don't we sit down?" Ruthie said.

"Fine, what's the hurry?" T-bone asked.

"T-bone…last night after the hospital, you asked why I was so distant and you asked if it had anything to do with Martin." Ruthie said.

"Uh, yeah…what? Is he marrying Sandy or something?" T-bone asked.

"No…actually, they decided to just be friends for Aarons sake, he told me that he really cared about her, but his heart was never really in it." Ruthie said.

"Ok, well…why are you telling me this?" He asked.

"Because I'm thinking, maybe we should do the same, just be friends I mean." Ruthie answered.

"What? What are you talking about, we just got back together…why would you do that if you didn't wanna be with me?" T-bone asked with a slight frustration in his voice. Ruthie could see his eyes becoming teary.

"T-bone please…I do care about you, even love you in a way, but…sometimes that's just not enough if your hearts not with that person a 100, and…my heart is, and I guess always have been with Martin. I guess I just never realized it, or at least how much, until last night." Ruthie said.

"I can't believe this!" T-bone said as he got out of his chair.

"The guy has a baby for christ sake! He's been a total jerk to you!" He continued in a loud voice.

"Yes he has! But you don't know what him and I've been through, we've grown together. T-bone I'm sorry, but I really wanna try to make it work with Martin. If I stayed in this relationship, it would only hurt us both in the end." Ruthie said. It killed her to see T-bone like this.

"What makes you think things will be different this time?" T-bone said

"I just know it, I can't explain it, but it was something about his eyes last night, he was sincere T-bone." Ruthie responded.

"Fine, you know what…you and that jerk have a nice life!, don't expect me to be here when things don't work out." He said in a loud voice as he headed out the door.

Ruthie could only watch him walk out, as a small tear fell down her cheek. She knew she had made the right decision, she just wished she could take T-bones pain away.

Annie came in the kitchen and saw Ruthie.

"Are you okay sweetie?" Annie asked.

"I think so, I just talked to T-bone…I had to break up with him." Ruthie answered.

"Oh I'm so sorry." Annie gave her daughter a hug.

"Why did you break up with him?" She continued.

"Last night at the hospital, Martin came by, and we talked." Ruthie answered.

"About what?" Annie asked.

"Well…he apologized for the whole Jane thing and then he told me…that I was the one he wanted to be with." Ruthie said.

"Oh honey…are you sure?" Annie asked.

"Yeah I am…I've always loved Martin, I had to end it with T-bone. I mean I'm scared, sure…but somehow, I trust him, and I feel the time is right. And like he said…we've both grown up." Ruthie responded.

"You know I'll support you 100 sweetie, I'm so proud of you. And I love Martin to, as long as he'll be good to you." Annie said and gave her daughter another hug,

"Thanks mom." Ruthie said before heading back up to her room.

A few hours later, Ruthie could see the clock striking 7 and her stomach once again tied up in knots as she opened the door for Martin.

"Hi" He said.

"Hi" She responded as they pulled eachother in for a warm hug. God how she loved feeling his protective embrace. It was amazing how different he was from T-bone. Martin was deeper, and not quite as sarcastic as T-bone. She started to blush as they broke free from the hug.

"Uh, come in, I'm making some tea, you want some?" Ruthie asked.

"Yeah that'd be great, you need anything?" Martin asked.

"Oh, thanks, I got it." Ruthie answered as Martin sat down by the table.

When the tea was ready, she sat down with Martin, giving him his cup.

"Thanks, so…how are you feeling?" He asked tenderly.

"Actually, I'm good, considering everything that happened yesterday and breaking up with T-bone again." Ruthie answered.

"What?...I'm sorry to hear that." Martin said. Knowing that deep inside of him, a little seed of hope had grown.

"Don't be. Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about, since we didn't get to talk last night. The reason I broke up with T-bone…was that I realized, after our conversation, when you said that your heart wasn't in your relationship with Sandy…that my heart wasn't with T-bone either. And that it was, and I guess…always has been with you." Ruthie said, nervous to what he was gonna say.

"You're really sure about this?" Martin said smilingly.

"Yeah I am, I'm not saying I'm not scared, but…" She was interrupted by a gentle kiss from Martin. After the kiss, they just gazed into eachothers eyes for a long time, not having to say a word, the love in their eyes said everything.

"Wow…how do you do that?" Ruthie asked.

"Do what?" The look of love on Martins face was so clear to Ruthie, that she couldn't help but smile.

"Make me feel like I'm on cloud nine." She said tenderly with a smile.

"I love you Ruthie…and I'm sorry for the things I put you thru, and if I could turn back time and to things differently, I would. And I'm also sorry it took so long for me to admit my feelings to myself and to realize what was right in front of me the whole time." Martin said tenderly.

"Martin…all that matters is the present, and right now, is the right time. We'll make it work right?" Ruthie said.

"We will." Martin responded, as they kissed once more.

**I'm not sure if I'll leave the fanfic like this ****or to continue, so it's up to you guys, so keep 'em reviews coming )**


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